Recent publications of the Faith and Order Commission

The Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches, in which the Catholic Church has participated since 1968, has recently published a series of studies on the themes of ecclesiology and moral discernment.

On ecclesiology, the new series gathers the official responses to the convergence text entitled The Church Towards a Common Vision (TCTCV), published in 2013. The responses received from churches, councils of churches, ecumenical organizations and individuals have been published in two volumes entitled Churches Respond to the Church: Towards a Common Vision. The first volume can be accessed here, and the second (including the Catholic response, pp.161–221) here. The Catholic response uncovers ecclesial foundations commonly held and reveals many aspects in harmony with Catholic thought, while pointing out several points that require further study. The responses were analysed by an ecumenical group which summarized the key findings and advanced some proposals for further research in a third volume entitled What Are the Churches Saying About the Church? Key Findings and Proposals from the Responses to The Church: Towards a Common Vision. A fourth volume will follow including papers on the 16 key themes identified by the study group as relevant in the responses.

On moral discernment, three recent volumes recapitulate the work of the Commission commenced in 2015. Volume I, Churches and Moral Discernment. Learning from Traditions  features 14 self-descriptions of different traditions regarding moral discernment: their sources and the processes of ecclesial deliberation. Volume II, Churches and Moral Discernment. Learning from History focuses on the change in moral discernment processes in various churches. Volume III, Churches and Moral Discernment. Facilitating Dialogue to Build Koinonia harvests the fruits of the entire study process and describes patterns in the complex interaction between continuity and change as churches respond to moral challenges. 

The Faith and Order Commission is a study commission of the World Council of Churches aimed at promoting Christian unity by engaging in dialogue on theological questions. Established in 1948, the Commission consists of official representatives of churches belonging to the different streams of Christianity, including the Catholic Church since 1968, making it a unique multilateral, global forum of ecumenical theology.